Metro Life Score
Winston-Salem, NC
Top-quartile composite Life Score — grade A-, 86th percentile of the national corpus.
- 59.6
- Life Score / 100
- A-
- Grade (curved)
- #56
- of 387 metros
- 86%
- composite percentile
Data updated August 2026
Verify: BEA · BLS · HUD · FBI · NCES · EPA · Census · Report a data issue · Data changelog
The verdict
Winston-Salem is top-quartile composite Life Score — #56 of 387 (59.6/100, grade A-, 86th percentile). Carried by rent at 97/100; held back most by safety at 45/100.
- 86th
- composite percentile
- #56
- of 387 peers
- 62nd
- cost dimension percentile
- 48th
- wages dimension percentile
Life Score shape · UPPER · BALANCED · signature composite
Winston-Salem: top-third composite Life Score
Winston-Salem clears the top third of US metros on composite Life Score (#56 of 387, 59.6/100, grade A-, 86th percentile). Stamps UPPER · BALANCED; cost MID (62nd) · wages MID (48th). Rent at 97/100 carries the lead; Safety (45/100) is the residual gap. According to PlainCompare's federal Life Score corpus ranking, Winston-Salem, NC ranks #56 of 387 metros by composite Life Score (highest = #1) and #146 of 387 by cost-of-living dimension score (highest = #1). Methodology.
BEA RPP 92.0 (rent-RPP 71.4). BLS median salary $63,918, 259,100 jobs (Registered Nurses, Retail Salespersons, Cashiers). HUD 2BR FMR $960/mo (studio $816).
FBI UCR (NC): 365 violent, 1930 property/100K. NCES: 16.1:1 ratio, 7.6% charter. DOL infant childcare $9,487/yr. EPA: 42 Superfund sites (NC).
Where Winston-Salem sits among all US metros
Composite Life Score vs the national field
60 Top 14% higher than 86% of 387 US metros
Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more US metros. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source PlainCompare composite of BEA, BLS, HUD, FBI, NCES, DOL, EPA data · August 2026
How the 59.6 is built
Winston-Salem's Life Score, decomposed
Dimension detail
How Winston-Salem scores, dimension by dimension
Score Breakdown
Dimension Scores
Key Data Points
Geography used: crime, schools, childcare, and environment cards above are NC state-level when metro-specific feeds are unavailable, see the scope key at the top of this page.
Compare Winston-Salem With...
Ranking Context
Winston-Salem outranks 86% of U.S. metros.
| Rank | Metro | Score | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|
| #53 | Rochester, MN | 59.8 | A- |
| #54 | Mobile, AL | 59.8 | A- |
| #55 | Greenville, NC | 59.9 | A- |
| #56 | Winston-Salem, NC | 59.6 | A- |
| #57 | Peoria, IL | 59.5 | A- |
| #58 | Boise City, ID | 59.2 | A- |
| #59 | Albany, GA | 59.1 | A- |
Quality vs. Affordability
Winston-Salem, NC is top 14% highest-quality nationally but only top 38% most affordable among its composite-quality peers -- its Life Score is earned mostly outside the cost dimension, not through being a budget option.
NC Metro Scores
Read with Winston-Salem
Nearest composite peers and cost poles for Winston-Salem (UPPER · BALANCED · MID/MID), replacing the fixed Explore/Guides strip.
Peoria, IL
ABS(composite) peer at 59.5 (Δ 0.1 vs this metro); lower Life Score · grade A- vs this page's UPPER · BALANCED · MID/MID.
Mobile, AL
ABS(composite) peer at 59.8 (Δ 0.2 vs this metro); higher Life Score · grade A- vs this page's UPPER · BALANCED · MID/MID.
Rochester, MN
ABS(composite) peer at 59.8 (Δ 0.2 vs this metro); higher Life Score · grade A- vs this page's UPPER · BALANCED · MID/MID.
Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA
ABS(composite) peer at 59.9 (Δ 0.3 vs this metro); higher Life Score · grade A- vs this page's UPPER · BALANCED · MID/MID.
Fayetteville, NC (cost pole)
ABS(cost_score) orthogonal peer at 63/100 (Δ 0); cost stamp MID vs this metro's MID.
Jacksonville, NC (cost pole)
ABS(cost_score) orthogonal peer at 62/100 (Δ 0); cost stamp MID vs this metro's MID.
Winston-Salem, NC relocation guide
Stamp-branched guide for UPPER · BALANCED · MID/MID - how to read federal Life Score inputs before a move.
Using Winston-Salem's top-third Life Score
Winston-Salem scores 59.6/100 overall, but Rent (96.9) and Safety (45.1) sit 51.8 points apart, so decide which of the two matters more to you before leaning on the total.
- Rent is the strongest of Winston-Salem's seven dimensions (weighted 15% in the composite); if it is your priority, this is where the metro earns its rank. See all seven dimensions
- Safety is the weakest (weighted 15% in the composite); if it is a dealbreaker, weigh it before the ranking does. Rank metros on the composite
- Greenville is the nearest comparison this page can offer; put the two side by side on the same seven dimensions. Compare with Greenville
A high composite is a weighted blend; it does not mean every dimension is strong.